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Please note:
These articles, written 2003-4, were intended not just for the benefit of local aquarists and visitors to Vancouver. Rather, they were written as part of the Travel section of Aquarticles, to show people from other cities and countries what the retail aquarium scene was like in Vancouver at that time. The articles will not necessarily be updated and things will inevitably change, so use caution if actually using the articles as a guide.

The Aquarium Stores of Vancouver Canada
by Howard Norfolk
Original to Aquarticles.com

Part V:
Noah's Pet Ark
2886 West Broadway, Vancouver. 604-736-9517
Has e-mail?, but did not reply to mine. 
For location go to MAP

In the living memory of most people who live in the area, there has always been a pet store in the 2800 block West Broadway, a major shopping street serving the prosperous West Side of Vancouver. For thirty years it was known as Balaclava Pets, and then for ten years it was a branch of the now closed Main Street Aquarium. In November 1988 it was taken over by present owner Graham White, who re-named it Noah's Pet Ark.

Click on photos for enlargements, then go "Back"

   
By Noah's front entrance is a drinking station for passing dogs.

Graham found his calling as a pet shop owner by a roundabout route. He and his family always had lots of pets, which gave him an interest in animals. He studied Biology at university for two years, but felt a need for more contact with people, so switched majors and got a degree in Psychology. He then studied social work, and became a qualified Drug and Alcohol Addiction Counsellor. But as a student he worked part-time in the pet store owned by his fiancee's father, and in the end he decided that owning a pet store was really the life for him! It combined his love for animals with his desire for lots of human contact.

    Graham loves to serve behind this counter.

Noah's is a general pet store that sells small mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and all the food and accessories that are needed for these pets. Graham says that in the old days a full-line pet shop's main source of income was from selling dogs and cats and their foods, but nowadays pedigree animals are sold by others, and their foods by specialists, big-box stores and supermarkets, so a pet shop like his now has to make a living from the smaller creatures which used to be just a sideline.

    Noah's is always busy

Graham's store is small but very busy, and is open every day. Even though he has seven full and part-time staff to help him, Graham sometimes works as many as 80 hours per week.

Graham's love for animals and his academic training show up in various ways in the store. He wants all the animals he sells to go to good homes, as his Pet Sales Policy shows:

    A thoughtful Pet Sales Policy

As the sign says, Graham will not sell a pet unless he believes the customer will look after it properly. To this end, he and his staff give buyers as much information as they can about their new pets. Occasionally customers have some strange ideas, and Graham says he has to walk a fine line between giving information and saying "I believe you're wrong." Sometimes he has to turn down a sale, but feels justified in doing this because if and when something goes wrong, the unhappy customers blame him anyway.

Let's look at the Fish Section:

   There are 76 tanks like these.

   Many of the tanks hold a variety of community fish.

   Here are some nice gold koi.

   Dotted around the store are posters about different aspects of pet-keeping. This one tells how to introduce new fish into an aquarium. Graham has also made up some printed informational leaflets which people can take home.

A nice detail that I haven't seen anywhere else is information on the water qualities of each tank. This way people can tell the temperature, pH and hardness of the water their fish like to live in, and can give them the same at home. Here is the info for angel fish, African cichlids, and koi.

   When you buy lighting at Noah's you are not left "in the dark"!

Graham likes fish and aquariums himself, and before he became so busy with the store he kept many fish at home, and had a pond too. One of his interests is killifish, and killies are what makes Noah's special. Graham belongs to the Vancouver Killie Club, which meets monthly in members' homes.  The club has a Species Acquisition Officer, whose job is to find new species for members to keep and breed. Killifish are easy to transport (and their dried eggs even easier), so rare fish come in from all over the World. Club members bring fish they have bred to the club meetings, and at the end of each meeting an informal auction is held. Graham buys all the fish that the others don't want, and brings them to Noah's.

You never know what killies Graham will find next. Here is what he had when I visited in August 2003:

   This beautiful killie is the "clown killie" or "rocket panchax" (look at its tail!) Pseudopiplatys annulatus. I really liked them and hadn't seen them before, so I bought five for a ten-gallon tank I have in my home office. They were $7 each.

   
Fundulopanchax sp., male $9, female $4.

   Orange Aphyosemion australe

   Fundulopanchax gardneri

   In keeping with Graham's policy of educating his customers, many tanks don't just have the names of the fish written on them, they also have tips on how to look after them. Graham says that this is not just for his customers' use (they often don't bother to read it); it also reminds his less experienced staff what they should be telling the customers.

Graham also has a personal interest in aquatic plants. His store sells an assortment of substrates and materials, and he is always ready with advice and handouts on how to grow plants successfully.

   Plants are all identified by their Latin names. There are more plants available in the winter months, because summer is the off-season for aquatic plants since most people are more interested in being outside in their gardens!

   
Graham's price list and information for floating plants.

Noah's Pet Ark is a general pet shop, and it is always interesting to take a look at what else is for sale:

   Birds and small mammals are kept in a "Staff Only" room where they won't be disturbed by customers and their children.

   These male rats were enjoying a lazy summer afternoon. They were on sale for $7 each.

   Special "kits" are sold for keeping various pets. These are "starter cricket care kits" $26.94, or heated $54.93. If you buy a kit you get the pet for a reduced price.

  
"Netherlands dwarf bunnies," $30 each, or $20 with a kit. And more information, this time about spaying and neutering rabbits.

   This large terrarium display contains green tree frogs ("dewormed") $13,   long-tailed grass lizards $17, and anoles "Quarantined for protozoans/worms. Guaranteed healthy." $15.

  
African giant millipedes, "locally bred," $20, and fire belly toads, $7.

On a shelf above the sales counter is a tank with breeding leopard geckos. Frogs, toads and lovebirds are also bred in the store.

   Tucked under the sales counter are plants for terrariums.

   Finally, if you no longer want your pet, Noah's will even help you find it a new home.

Noah's offers 10% off all regularly priced fish, plants and aquarium supplies to members of the Vancouver Aquatic Hobbyist Club.

Graham really cares about the pets he sells, and the people he sells them to.  For the aquarist, Noah's Pet Ark is well worth visiting regularly for the killifish and aquatic plants.